Tag Archives: Definitions
Multiple data source definitions on the On-premises data gateway for the same data source
Gateway management until recently, supported only one data source definition per data source on an on-premises data gateway. This posed limitations for gateway admins as they couldn’t create multiple data sources to the same data source each with different credentials based on the required security context for each one. The workaround would be to spin up a new gateway for every such new data source.
Note: The data source name still needs to be unique for every data source definition.
Below you can see that a gateway admin has created two data source definitions for the same database AdventureWorks2017 on the same server.
Once you publish a Power BI report, in the Datasets settings, you will be able to see the list of data sources you have access to as below. You can now select one of these data sources.
If you are a gateway admin, you could also additionally choose to add a new data source(as shown below) and that would take you to the Manage Gateways page to create a new data source.
If you have access to only one data source, you must explicitly select that data source.
Once all required data sources have been set up and selected, click on apply to bind this dataset to the selected data source on the gateway.
Note: This feature is currently available only for datasets. We plan to release the same feature for dataflows soon. Currently in dataflows, until this change is rolled out, the first available data source would be automatically selected.
Do try out this feature and provide your feedback. As always we would love to hear from you, learn from your experience and improve based on your feedback.
Thank you!
Why Sales Definitions Are a Best Practice for Great Sales Teams
What I call an Opportunity you call a Lead. What I call ‘upside’ someone else calls ‘working set’. For a sales team to be successful, and for a sales manager to have accurate reports, sales terms need to be clearly defined so everyone is speaking a common language.
Let’s say I’m a sales leader who defines upside as opportunities that are not slated to close in the current quarter. It’s important for me to see that every sales rep has a large enough working set so when next quarter rolls around they can carve out of that and have enough to forecast toward their goal. Having enough upside in the current quarter is just as important. For example, if an opportunity falls out of the current forecast we may have to focus on opportunities categorized as upside and see if we can do something to pull them into current forecast.
If the sales team member doesn’t understand a common set of definitions they will be unable to talk about the pipeline in a way that makes sense for everyone. This can lead to confusion and incomplete information and can impact sales forecast reliability.
So, does everyone on your sales team, including new hires, use the same definitions? Are executives who read the reports getting an accurate picture or your company’s productivity and profitability?
A common set of definitions used across the organization must be documented and clearly communicated to everyone involved.
When we built the Sales Pipeline Management add on for Microsoft Dynamics CRM we specifically addressed this issue. The add-on is designed so that each company can set up their own sales definitions or use the default definitions that we’ve defined. A help icon in the CRM system can provide a definition if a user forgets.
These are five common sales terms and definitions:
The total amount being forecast. This is the sum of Close and Committed opportunities.
Opportunities that are estimated to close in the specified period but have not been Committed.
Opportunities that have been Committed to close in the specified period.
Opportunities that have been Closed-Win in the specified period.
The percentage of Forecast amount to Goal for the specified period.
When everyone is looking at the same data, it is easier to reach the same goals.
A sales rep can log into Dynamics CRM and see his quarterly sales goal and the amount he is forecasting in that quarter. Those numbers should be equal every week when the pipeline reviews are done.
A regional manager’s goal could be based on the total revenue of all the reps that report directly to her. If she is confident that all reps are using the same sales definitions, she can filter and view the forecast for each sales rep to see how close they are to their goal and therefore how close she is to her own goal.
Sales definitions might seem like a small issue until you realize that forecasts have been skewed because not everyone was playing by the same rules or talking the same language Keep your terms standardized and keep your reports accurate and useful with AbleBridge’s Sales Pipeline Management add-on for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
AbleBridge Sales Pipeline Management is a combination of reporting tools and sales methodologies designed to enhance Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
To learn more about this add on tool for Dynamics CRM and how it was developed around best practices for sales teams, contact AbleBridge. 877-600-2253 or [email protected]
By AbleBridge, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Gold Partner, www.ablebridge.com
Follow us on Twitter: @AbleBridge
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